Steelers Now
With almost 700 wins and six Super Bowl championships over the last century, the Pittsburgh Steelers are one of the most iconic brands in all of sports. To recognize the contributions of the individuals that helped contribute to that success, the team created the Hall of Honor back in 2017. Since then, 60 members have been inducted into the exclusive fraternity, with Ben Roethlisberger, Maurkice Pouncey, and Joey Porter Sr. getting the call in 2025.
The criteria are as follows: they must have played for the franchise for at least three seasons, been retired for three seasons, and should have noteworthy career highlights, records, and achievements. That seems pretty simple, right? What is difficult, however, is figuring who should be the next group of legends to be enshrined next. There are a myriad of deserving candidates, but after much thought and research, here is my own personal ballot that I landed on.
The Stanford product was an impact starter the second he stepped on the football field in the black and gold before quickly transforming into one of the best players at his position, a tier that he remained in until his injury-marred final season. David DeCastro was a technician and an absolute weapon in the run game, with his calling card being his ability to get to the second level with his quickness or pull into space and effortlessly intersect with moving targets. The “Killer Bees” era where the offense was lighting up the scoreboard on Sundays, simply doesn’t happen without him, as he allowed only nine sacks from 2013-2019 per PFF while only missing a handful of games in that time frame.
After six Pro Bowl selections and a pair of first-team All-Pro nods, DeCastro’s playing career was cut short due to an ankle injury that required multiple surgeries. Giving him his proper recognition as one of the best linemen in franchise history would be a great way to smooth over any potential bad blood caused by the Steelers releasing him amidst multiple ankle surgeries. His toughness and no-nonsense approach are exactly what Pittsburgh is all about. This one feels more like a question of “when” and not “if.”
Not only was the “Blitzburgh” defense of the mid-1990s one of the most feared units in franchise history, it introduced us to one of the coolest players ever: a 6-foot-1, 270-pound monster named Levon Kirkland. During this era, offenses were still engineered with the ground-and-pound approach, meaning it was paramount to have a thumper in the middle that could deconstruct blocks at the point of attack. Even as a converted edge, he was a natural at finding the football and amassed over 1,000 career tackles as the linchpin of a defense that was particularly stingy when he was at the peak of his powers from 1995-1998.
He was another classic example of someone that played faster than his testing numbers would indicate, a credit to his football IQ....
